Michael Bromwich says he is proud to have defended staff from unfair criticism

It is fair to say that one of the things that Michael Bromwich will miss least now that he has left his post regulating offshore oil and gas drilling is Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia.

View full sizeJacquelyn Martin, The Associated PressMichael Bromwich, director, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, left, and Vice Adm. Brian Salerno of the U.S. Coast Guard were photographed at a U.S. Senate committee hearing on Oct. 18.

At
a valedictory meeting with reporters last week, Bromwich, who led the
overhaul of the regulatory regime for offshore drilling in the wake of
the Deepwater Horizon disaster, did not mention Landry by name. But he
did say one of his proudest achievement was restoring morale among the
rank-and-file regulators, and defending them from unfair criticism,
mentioning in particular the congressman (Landry) who likened folks at
the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement's New
Orleans office to the Gestapo for the unwelcoming reception he said they
gave him during an unscheduled visit to their office in September.

Landry
responded that his criticism was always directed at the Interior
Department's leadership. who he said "created this air that they wanted
to do away with the oil and gas industry."

Of Bromwich, Landry
said, "he's a very bright and astute prosecutor," but "he worked for a
president of the United States and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and, at the end of the day, you are who you hang around with."